The History Boys: A Sold-out Hit

This was the official website to promote the 2006 Broadway hit, The History Boys. The information below is from the site's archived pages.

I attended the play after it was highly recommended by a business associate by the name of Satya Rangarajan. We knew each aother when we were both working at Computer Associates where Satya was the Director of Development in my department. Satya was a highly energetic director with great technical experience who gave all of us team members instructive encouragement making our work environment very positive. I was able to see the play when I was in New York City on a business trip. What a fabulous show and a thank you shout out to Satya for suggesting I see it.

2006

The History Boys is about staff room rivalry, the anarchy of adolescence, and the purpose of education.

The best play of the season has landed on Broadway: Alan Bennett’s THE HISTORY BOYS.

A hugely successful, sold-out hit at the National Theatre of Great Britain, this brilliant comedy has just arrived here, featuring the inspired original British cast. And the New York critics have declared it an absolute winner.

A very funny and deeply moving play, THE HISTORY BOYS is about eight bright, funny students trying to get into college… and the year that influenced the rest of their lives. An unorthodox teacher (Stephen Campbell Moore) and his colleagues (Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour) at a British grammar school try to prepare gifted young charges for the upcoming Oxford and Cambridge entrance exams. The students absorb the facts and figures thrown at them by academia, and in the process, they also learn a little about life.

Awards

WINNER! 6 TONY AWARDS
Best Play
Best Performance by a Leading Actor, Richard Griffiths
Best Performance by a Featured Actress, Frances de la Tour
Best Direction, Nicholas Hytner
Best Scenic Design, Bob Crowley
Best Lighting Design, Mark Henderson

WINNER! 5 Drama Desk Awards
Outstanding Play
Outstanding Actor in a Play, Richard Griffiths
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Samuel Barnett
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Frances de la Tour
Outstanding Director of a Play, Nicholas Hytner

WINNER! NY Drama Critics Circle Award
Best Play of the 2005-2006 Broadway Season

WINNER! Drama League AwardSource: Playbill.comThe History Boys received the 2006 Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Play.

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REVIEWS

"MADLY ENJOYABLE AND ENTHRALLING, with a seductive polish that New York audiences have seldom experienced of late. Alan Bennett's dialogue is AS SHIMMERING AND WARMING AS A FINE COGNAC. And EVERY MEMBER OF THE CAST STANDS OUT as an individual worthy of attention. PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE SHOULD FALL FOR THE CHARM OF 'THE HISTORY BOYS."

***

"Richard Griffiths is extraordinary in the role of his lifetime. And the terrific Francis de la Tour is perfect. The actors give the entire evening a credibility that is positively amazing. Hytner has directed with dazzling ease."

- Clive Barnes, New York Post

***

"BRILLIANT! A reminder of how ENTERTAINING, STIMULATING AND EXHILARATING THEATER CAN BE!"

"A THOUGHTFUL, COMPASSIONATE PLAY with a lively, tightly meshed crew of actors. Frances de la Tour is MARVELOUS. High school kids are likely to be absorbed as much as adults by the story. They even may learn a thing or two."

"'THE HISTORY BOYS' EARNS ALL A'S! BRACINGLY SMART. Alan Bennett has pulled off that rarest of feats, a comedy both devilishly entertaining and true to the heart. Richard Griffiths is delivering one of those remarkable performances that render actor and character indivisible. Frances de la Tour is SUPERB."

- Peter Marks, Washington Post

***

"GENIUS AT WORK! Smart, funny, touching and true, with an enormously gifted cast. IT IS THE PLAY YOU MUST SEE IF YOU SEE NOTHING ELSE ON BROADWAY THIS SPRING. A vibrant, non-stop dramatic package that won't soon leave your mind. IT IS THE SEASON'S ONLY ESSENTIAL PLAY!"

- Jacques le Sourd, The Journal News

***

"AS WITTY, INTELLIGENT AND FUNNY AN EVENING OF THEATER AS YOU'RE LIKELY TO SEE ALL SEASON! IT'S A JOY!"

- Jeffrey Lyons, WNBC-TV

***

"GRIPPING AND FASCINATING. A funny, touching and eloquent play about the meaning of education. EXTRAORDINARILY BRIGHT AND COMPLETELY ENGAGING, managing the trick of connecting to the brain, the heart and the funny bone. In Nicholas Hytner's IMPECCABLE production, Richard Griffiths is SUPERB. And the delicious Frances de la Tour give THE DROLLEST PERFORMANCE YOU'LL EVER SEE!"